Broken Faith: How to Recapture The Fire

Imagine you’re a man named Peter. You had a thriving business, and one day you left it to join a new startup. The CEO and president decided to make you the vice president. You left customers, friends, and even family to travel the world promoting this venture.

The startup launches and does amazingly well. People are excited, and the company garners massive media attention—mostly positive, but some negative. The positive attention draws crowds big enough to fill the largest football stadiums, yet the negative attention ends up determining the company’s fate. Because of it, the CEO you followed is arrested and sentenced to death.

When the news breaks, reporters rush to you and ask about your affiliation. Your name isn’t on any official documents, so you have a choice. You could boldly announce to the world that you are second-in-command and fully support the incarcerated president and the company. You could testify that you’re still leading from the front as vice president. Or you could lie and claim you’re as shocked as everyone else and had nothing to do with the company in any way.

Peter chose the latter. In the face of ridicule and possible death, he denied the very One who believed in him and loved him more than even his own family. Peter didn’t lose his faith when asked if he knew Jesus; he had a moment where it broke. If the apostle Peter could have a break in his faith—after walking hand in hand with Jesus for hundreds of miles, preaching the gospel to all who would listen—then how can ordinary men and women expect never to have a similar lapse?

Many highlight Peter’s importance because of how he preached the gospel; I would argue his importance also lies in how he recovered from broken faith, recaptured the fire, and charged ahead.

How did he do it?

1) Run toward Jesus.

In Luke 22 we see the denial, but by Luke 24 we see Peter running to the tomb of Jesus. The first step in regaining your fire is to run toward Jesus. Take the shame with you. Take the guilt with you. Take the sin, the neglect of God’s will and purpose—and run. When you get to the Cross of Christ, Jesus Himself will remove the shame, guilt, hurt, and sin, and show you love unspeakable. You cannot get clean on your own, so don’t try to “pull yourself together” first. Forsake everything and radically chase after Jesus.

2) Accept the call of the resurrected Jesus.

When Jesus forgives you and delivers you from the punishment of your sins and the agony of hell and the grave, He then invites you into ministry. John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will obey me.” In John 21, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him; Peter says yes, and Jesus immediately responds with a call: “Feed my lambs.” The way to get strong is to seek Jesus, and the way to stay strong is to teach others how to seek Him. You regain your fire by chasing after Jesus; you maintain your fire by helping others do the same.

There’s a promise: “If you seek, you will find; if you knock, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7). If you want a closer relationship with Jesus, seek Him. Practically, that looks like attending church regularly—twice a week or more is a wise rhythm—praying, and reading your Bible in conjunction with your church life. Prayer is you talking to God. The church gathering is God speaking to you through His Word and His people. The Bible is God instructing you and passing on ancient, eternal wisdom.

3) Stay rooted and grounded in Christ.

The last step to repairing broken faith and keeping the flame burning is to remain in the fire of the Holy Spirit. Many ministers burn out because they start strong—seeking God, evangelizing—and then slowly stop seeking God. They become so busy serving people that they forget to pray, read, and meditate. Healthy relationships thrive when you keep doing the things you did at first to win the other’s heart. In the same way, keep seeking Jesus as fervently years later as you did in the beginning. That’s how the fire stays lit.

Get excited about church—even about its problems—because God likely sent you to help solve them. In the words of Bishop T. D. Jakes, “Get ready, get ready, get ready.” Run to Jesus. Teach others to run to Jesus. And don’t stop running toward Him yourself.

God bless you, and let that fire blaze! — L. J. Griffin

Bible References

Luke 22:54–62 (ESV) — Peter Denies Jesus

54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.

55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.

56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”

57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”

58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”

59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”

60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”

62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

Luke 24 (ESV) — The Resurrection

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,

7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

8 And they remembered his words,

9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,

11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

John 21:15 (ESV)

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

Matthew 7:7 (NLT)

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”